


Face Off

by specifiedtrash



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Face/Off (1997)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-10 18:12:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3299198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/specifiedtrash/pseuds/specifiedtrash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>you know the movie face off with nick cage?? its that but with leon and ishimaru. enjoy. the ships are only brief mentions</p>
            </blockquote>





	Face Off

"You’ll be deep undercover. You can’t tell anyone about this. Not even Asahina-san."

Ishimaru swallowed hard. This wasn’t going to be easy, but he was the most qualified. They’d captured the criminal Kuwata Leon, but that wasn’t enough. They needed information, and he wasn’t about to part with it. Due in no small part to the coma he’d found himself in. Ishimaru stood over Kuwata’s bed, giving the unconscious man an intense stare. His stares were always intense. It was the eyebrows.

All the pain this punk had caused him and Asahina, all those years of trying to track him down and bring him to justice. Finally paid off, but it wasn’t enough. It was never enough. This man wouldn’t stop until he’d driven Ishimaru insane.

"I’m ready." The doctors nodded and started off to a hospital bed beside Kuwata’s. "But wait-" Ishimaru caught someone not in uniform by the wrist. Not just anyone. His best friend, Oowada Mondo. Here for emotional support, more than anything. "Kyoudai… I want to keep my scar. As a reminder." Mondo hesitated, but did nod.

"Alright, Kyoudai. I’ll make sure."

"And one more thing."

"Anything, Buddy."

Ishimaru slowly pulled off his wedding ring.

"Hold this for me."

Mondo took it, and his best friend’s hand with it.

"You’ll be fine, Kyoudai. I promise. I’ll be right there when ya wake up. You know I never go back on my word. I’ll be right beside ya."

It was just words, but it put Kiyotaka at ease to hear them aloud. He’d never doubted that Mondo would be there for him. He let out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, and gave a smile back to Mondo.

"Thank you."

—

The procedure went off without a hitch. Everything went perfectly, and before he knew it, Ishimaru was waking up in recovery. Through the grogginess of anesthetic he’d almost forgotten where he was. But it all came back to him at once, like a punch to the stomach, and now he felt sick. He blinked and stirred, hoping it was all a dream.

But it wasn’t. The nightmare was very real, and staring him in the mirror. He fell over when he saw Kuwata’s face looking back at him. Even his red eyes had gone blue, black hair spiked and red. It was worse than seeing someone he didn’t recognise.

But Mondo caught him, and loudly reminded him of his own name.

"It’s alright, Kyoudai! You’re _Ishimaru Kiyotaka!_ " The rest he couldn’t hear over the ringing in his ears. Which were… Pierced. He had hair implants, not only on top of his head, but making up a tied beard, too. They’d even given him a tongue ring and labret, a microchip to change his voice.

He’d become that which he hated most, and his only hope now was to find Kuwata’s partners and fool them into talking. It was the only way. Only Ishimaru was qualified, only he had spent years on this jerk’s tail. Only he recognized everyone Kuwata would, knew their relationship, could improvise memories and mimic speech patterns.

—

It took him a week to fully recover, but he still couldn’t fully wrap his mind around it. He couldn’t let Kuwata win. He had to get this mission finished, and fast, so he could have everything reversed and wake up from this nightmare.

—

In no time, the small band of police working with him had sent him off to where Kuwata was meant to be. Prison. There, he managed to catch up with Naegi. A weak boy, but he was close to Kuwata, and even if his sentance was short, it would buy Ishimaru enough time to get information from him. Ishimaru couldn’t quite remember what his charge was. Probably for helping Kuwata escape. They’d put a lot of people away for that.

Unbeknownst to Ishimaru, Kuwata was waking up.

No one had planned for this, but it was too late now. He was sitting up in his hospital bed, with a sharp pain on his face and bandages he couldn’t explain. A patch of memory was missing. All he knew was that he’d been caught, and he suspected that goody-goody Ishimaru was involved. Shit, that guy had been on his tail since day one. He’d have to make some calls and cash in a few favours.

—

Before long, Naegi had told Ishimaru everything he needed to hear. When he thought he was talking to Kuwata, it was surprisingly easy to get information out of him. It wasn’t until he overheard a snippit of a news report that Ishimaru stiffened. He turned back to look at the screen behind him in horror.

There was himself, accepting an award for catching Kuwata. But… He was here. In prison. Pretending to be Kuwata. So… Who was accepting the award?!

His question didn’t go unanswered for long. A day later, he was called from his cell to see a visitor. Strange. Who would be visiting Kuwata? Still, he played along, gave his best mimic of the punk’s cocky smile, and hopped up to be escorted to the visitor’s room.

It wasn’t much of a room- no furniture, just a glass pane to seperate him from his guest. Slowly, the door on the side opposite opened, and he tried to peer around to see who it was.

It was…  _Himself?!_  No, no it was someone else. Someone using his face as a disguise. He watched in poorly disguised horror as he saw himself walking forward with a perfect cocky smirk, and he knew at once who it was.

"Y-you…"

"Hey, _‘Kuwata’_. How’s it goin’? I gotta say, ya got a pretty cool set-up. Nice house, nice car… Hell, ya even got a nice girl. I didn’t know you’d hooked up with Asahina. Nice one!” Kuwata had his hands pocketed in Ishimaru’s uniform, smirking and not even trying to copy Ishimaru’s mannerisms. Ishimaru stared in horror. He couldn’t even bring himself to say anything back, it was a terrible betrayal of character, but he couldn’t help it. “When we’re done here, I think I’m gonna call her up.” He flashed his hand, and Ishimaru’s blue eyes shot to the ring that shouldn’t be there. The blood fell from his face.

"But… Oowada-k-"

"Didn’t ya catch the news? Oowada’s  _dead,_  man. Terrible accident. I’m real torn up, he was my best friend, y’know. Just like a brother.” This kept getting worse and worse. Ishimaru felt sick. How could he let this happen?!

"How could you do such a thing?!"

"What,  _me?_ " Kuwata held his hands over his chest, mocking surprise. "I’d never hurt my best friend! I’m clean as a whistle. _You’re_  the one with the criminal record. Besides, I had to shave my hair for this! You know how much I hate havin’ short hair? Makes me look like a total dork…” He frowned and ran a hand over his short black hair. But he stopped, and shot Ishimaru a dark smile. “At least I’m  _free_  though, right?” He spun on his heel and headed back towards the door. “Y’know I went to highschool with Asahina? Always wanted to try her out…”

There was nothing he could do. Kuwata had walked out the door without so much as looking back, and the door had shut behind him.

That was it. Oowada was dead. Just like that. His hands shook all night. It couldn’t be true. It  _couldn’t_  be. Images of Kuwata with Asahina were spinning in his head, and he couldn’t focus on anything but revenge.

—

If only he had Kuwata’s charm, that easygoing optimism that made other people want to be his friend and do what he suggested. All he could do was try his best to copy it, to keep his cover, and pull as many strings as he could. All his research into Kuwata’s relationships and memories was paying off. He knew exactly who to call in for favours, how big of a favour he could get from them, who was stronger and who was stupider. His own knowledge of the prison paid it’s part. Eventually he managed to orchestrate a breakout.

It was close, and Naegi hadn’t made it out with him, but Ishimaru swore to come back for him and in that moment he was sure Naegi had known. But the brunette had just nodded in understanding, and Ishimaru had run for it. He called in as many favours as he could, and even managed to get a ride to Kuwata’s home. At least he could get some sleep. He’d need the energy to get back on Kuwata’s heels and have this whole procedure reversed for both of them.

When he got there, he was surprised to find the house wasn’t empty. A sweet girl with blue hair and a doll-like smile was there to greet him with a kiss and words of relief to see him again. Was Kuwata… Married? In all his research, all those hours spent pouring over criminal acts and records… And he didn’t know about this? He didn’t even know her name. It wouldn’t be easy to fool her into believing he was the real Kuwata. Already, she’d given him a confused look and asked what was wrong.

"Ah, nothing. It’s nothing. I’m just a little tired."

"You?" She looked over to the clock, and gave him an annoyed expression. "It’s not even ten yet! Is something going on with you?"

"No, I’m perfectly fine! Just worn out!"

"Why are you yelling?"

Ah, darn, it was so difficult to keep this act up. He cleared his throat and did his best to mimic Kuwata’s speech.

"Sorry, Babe. I’m real tired, that’s all." That was right, wasn’t it? He was sure Kuwata had called girls ‘babe’ before. It felt awkward to say it himself, but she seemed to accept the petname, and just let out a sigh.

"Alright. Do you want to go to bed early?"

"Yeah, I think that would be good." Ishimaru messed the front of his hair. The length was unfamiliar and strange, but he tried not to notice, and instead looked down the hallway. Now… Which one was Kuwata’s bedroom? It would look suspicious if he went to the wrong one, so he looked back to the unfamiliar girl and shrugged.

"Really? I thought you were tired!"

Oh dear. There seemed to be some sort of miscommunication. He smiled sheepishly.

"I don’t know what you mean! I just… Can you show me?"

Now she just looked even more offended.

“ _Show you?!_ " She rolled her eyes, took his forearm, and led him down the hall. Then she pointed at his bed expectantly. Ishimaru was relieved. At least he’d gotten here, and she didn’t seem too suspicious. Just annoyed. For some reason.

"Thanks, Babe."

"Don’t  _thank_  me,” she mumbled. He walked past her, into the room, and sat on the edge of his bed, holding his belt buckle. He glanced back up at her. Was she going to leave? He didn’t want to sleep in his clothes, but getting changed with her watching was… Odd. Instead, she closed the door behind her and stood in front of him. “Just don’t talk at all, okay? You’re acting weird.”

Ishimaru nodded in confusion, and leaned back a little ways. She just leaned forward with him and started kissing him. Oh golly. There had definitely been a miscommunication somewhere along the line.

—

As it turned out, it was a delightful miscommunication.

He woke up with her still beside him, head quietly resting on his chest. Maybe he could slip away with her still sleeping. After all, now that he’d gotten a little rest, he wanted to grab something to eat from Kuwata’s kitchen and resume the chase.

Very carefully, he pulled away, and shoved a pillow where he used to be. She stirred a little, but hugged the pillow and didn’t open her eyes. Perfect. Ishimaru took his pants off the floor and slipped into the other room to dress.

After a very awkward conversation about how he always did this (though he wasn’t sure _what_  he always did), he managed to avoid having a mug thrown at him and slip out the door. That was a strange night indeed.

—

Ishimaru made it to his own home, found the spare key from under the doormat and let himself in. Quietly, just in case Kuwata was here. He slowly made his way further into the home. The place was a mess. A strange mess, though. The table was cleared and anything that used to be on it was now on the floor. A few picture frames were crooked, but only against one wall. Oddly enough, most of the rest of the house was undisturbed. He found his police gear in it’s usual place, and retrieved his gun. Somehow, he didn’t think Kuwata would come willingly. The carpet near the couch was folded, and he reflexively flipped it back how it should be with his foot as he passed it. Someone might trip if he didn’t.

It was eight in the morning, well time for Kuwata to be out of bed and ready for the day, if he was properly copying Ishimaru’s schedule. Somehow he doubted that he would be. He crept up to the bedroom, and lightly pushed the door open.

The only person he saw there was Asahina. Strange, but alright. Until something tapped his shoulder. He slowly turned, now face-to-face with his own face. Before he could react, Kuwata roughly grabbed his wrist and forced the gun to point back at Ishimaru. Even if he pulled the trigger, it would just serve to shoot his own torso. Kuwata held a finger to his lips in a shushing motion, and gestured over to the sleeping Asahina.

"Shh. Don’t wanna wake her up," Kuwata quietly pulled the bedroom door shut, reaching around Ishimaru to do so. "She’s totally worn out from yesterday." He smirked at Ishimaru, but Ishimaru wasn’t entirely sure why. Had she been running? "I’m pretty tired out too, y’know?" At least he was keeping his voice a whisper. If Asahina saw them, she’d suspect Ishimaru was the trespasser. "But damn, she’s _good.”_  Kuwata bit his lip and made a pleased grin. ”I’m almost jealous.”

Then Ishimaru caught on. He gasped and pointed at Kuwata.

"Y-you..!?" Kuwata held up four fingers and mouthed the words ‘four times’. Ishimaru’s jaw nearly hit the floor. He barely kept himself from shouting, just mouthed back, ‘four?!’ Kuwata grinned and nodded.

"We were at it for _hours._  Don’t ya ever treat your girl? C’mon, Ishimaru. You know they have needs too.” He shook his head and made a disappointed tsking noise.

"W-well… I…" Oh dear. How could he get back at Kuwata for this? For killing his best friend, stealing his face, and making it with his wife- four times? If he got Kuwata angry enough, he might let go of Ishimaru’s gun hand and give him the opportunity he needed. If only Kuwata wasn’t so strong, he could free his hand himself. "I  _also_  had intercourse last night!” Kuwata squinted. “Yes! I did!”

"Wait, you..?"

"Blue hair! Has a freckle just here!" Ishimaru pointed at his hip. Kuwata’s expression went from confusion to anger. Before Ishimaru realized what he was doing, Kuwata grabbed his neck and shoved his back against the bedroom door with a thunk. Ishimaru made a choked gurgle noise, and clawed at Kuwata’s hand.

"You’re damn lucky I don’t wanna screw up that face. What did you do with her?" Ishimaru gave up trying to pull Kuwata’s hand off, instead using his free hand to cock his gun and point it back at Kuwata.

Kuwata tilted his chin back and grimaced. After a short hesitation, he pulled his hand off Ishimaru’s neck and backed up, both hands up. Ishimaru glared bullets at the criminal and stepped closer. Kuwata stepped back, eyeing the pistol.

His victory was short-lived, though. Asahina yanked the door open, just in time to see who she believed to be Ishimaru being held at gunpoint by Kuwata. She gasped and slapped her hands over her mouth. Kuwata yanked his eyes off the gun and looked her in the eye.

"Aoi, please! Stop him!" Kuwata did his best Ishimaru impression, and with the face and voice he needed, it was damn convincing. Ishimaru cringed, but didn’t take his eyes off of Kuwata. He had to have faith that Asahina would know who was who.

"Don’t listen to him! There was a procedure, I had to use his face to get information, and now he’s st-"

"I know, Kiyotaka. Do you want me to get your handcuffs?"

"Wait, what? You knew?" Kuwata dropped his hands, suddenly looking hurt. "How long did you-?!"

Aoi shrugged, taking all of this shockingly well.

"Kiyotaka never calls me ‘Babe’, and he sure doesn’t last  _that_  long.” Ishimaru gaped at her.

"But you?!"

"Hey, he looked just _like_  you!”

"When did you find out, exactly?"

"Uhhmm… A little before he got here?" Both men looked at her in confusion. "Yeah. One of the doctors that did the whole thing called to let me know what was up. When Kuwata got here looking like you, well, I thought it would be safer to just play along for a while."

"Well, you didn’t have to-"

"He’s  _really_  persuasive!” Kuwata grinned. Ishimaru gave Aoi a look of disgust.

"Hey, I  _told_  you you gotta treat your gi-  _OW!_  Shit!” Kuwata fell over, bracing his leg’s new gunshot wound.

—

The procedure was successfully reversed, both men had their original faces back, and Ishimaru made good on his promise to get Naegi released. Kuwata wound up in jail, where he belonged, and only got one visit from a very annoyed Maizono, who was left out of the whole thing.

And Ishimaru lived happily ever after.

The end.


End file.
